Four town trustee seats up for election in Mancos

Nomination deadlines are in January

Craig Benally selects a number out of the bucket held by then-town clerk and treasurer Heather Alvarez before the 2016 election. He is one of just three board members whose seats are not up for re-election next year.

Mary Shinn/The Journal

The April 3, 2018, election will be an important one for the Mancos Town Board, with four trustee positions on the ballot.

According to a news release from the town government, nomination petitions will be available at the clerk’s office starting 8 a.m., Jan. 2. Candidate nominations must be filed at the same office by 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 22. The election will be conducted via mail-in ballots.

The seats open for election belong to Fred Brooks, Lorraine Becker, Michele Black and Cindy Simpson. All four trustees are eligible for re-election, but town administrator Heather Alvarez said none of them have yet announced whether they plan to run.

Although the deadline is almost a month away, Alvarez said she has already started putting up informational fliers around town and posting election information on the Mancos website and Facebook page.

“I like it when new people run, and I know it’s a little intimidating,” she said. “That’s why I wanted to do everything early, so that if they have questions, they can just come in and ask.”

This will be Mancos’s third mail-in election, after the town started the method in 2014.

Candidates for the town board must have lived within town limits for at least a year, be at least 18 years old and be registered to vote in order to run for office.

The Mancos town board’s next meeting will be 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 13, and will include a vote on the 2018 budget.

Four town trustee seats up for election in Mancos

Craig Benally selects a number out of the bucket held by then-town clerk and treasurer Heather Alvarez before the 2016 election. He is one of just three board members whose seats are not up for re-election next year.